Sparkyville, USAEpisode 13: Trial of the Century
by HPDrummerman
Summary: People vs. Gray gets underway as prosecutors try to convince the jury that Violet had wicked intentions that Christmas Eve when she tried to kill Charlie Brown and Sally. Violet also faces military charges as she tried to assassinate a military officer in Charlie Brown. Grant cuts her off and offers Sally a free ride through the rest of her college years.
1. Chapter 1

Episode 13: Trial of the Century

**CHAPTER 1: OPENING ARGUMENTS**

Violet's trial had finally begun. She was dressed nice in a business suit and her hair up in its usual pony tail hairdo. Her lawyer Dick Sadler, along with co-counsel Audrey Trainor and Gregory Ketchum, were ready to present their defense. All of the people she knew were there, as well, including her intended victims, the Browns. The only exception was Patty, who was still recovering from her wound due to Violet accidently shooting her. Even a fresh out of prison Lucy was there to witness what was happening.

After Judge Melendez gave his instructions to the jury, Assistant D.A. Wylie Garrison started his opening statement.

"Your honor, jury, people in the courtroom, jealousy is only human nature. Each and every one of us had been jealous of someone or something at least once in their lives. No one has NOT had jealous feelings. Whether someone had just purchased their first house and you are still living in an apartment, or if your best friend bought a new sports car and you're still taking the bus to work every day, we all have been envious of the other person who had what you wanted for yourself. It's natural to be jealous, and no one will fault you for it. It's how you handle said jealousy that makes the difference between making the best of a situation, and getting what that other person has with force, treachery, and outright murder. The defendant has chosen the third option.

"Violet Gray had been jealous of the Brown family because, in her own words, their father was always there to be with them, no matter how busy he was. And while the defense will make it sound like she snapped after being terminated from her father's business due to her treatment of the other interns there, especially Sally Brown, eyewitness accounts will tell you that her long-stemming hatred for the Brown family existed prior to her termination, and that her attempted massacre of the family was not in the heat of passion, or she suddenly snapped. She planned it out, and she knew what she was doing. Yes she was fueled by jealousy, but her motives were crystal clear. She wanted to murder an entire family. This was premeditated."

Dick rose up and made his opening statement.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, yes Violet Gray had tried to kill the Brown family. That is not in dispute. She is a young lady suffering from mental anguish and long-standing psychosis. She wanted what the Brown family had and she had not. Sure she came from a privileged family with plenty of wealth, but she was missing that family closeness. Her father loved her dearly, that was no doubt, but he was too busy developing his company, and her mother had substance abuse issues that she was in and out of rehab constantly. Why wouldn't she envy someone who was almost as well-off as her family, yet have the family closeness she yearned for. Violet eyed the Browns as competition and it consumed her. Did she make a mistake in trying to kill the Browns that night? Absolutely. But she was in a state of uncontrolled rage and wasn't thinking rationally. She had went temporarily insane and in her mania thought being rid of the Browns would make her world much better and things would go right for her for once."

"Is this dude serious?" asked Sally to Charlie.

"I think he's trying to get Violet off," said Charlie. "I think his case is weak, though."

"So ask yourself. Can Violet get the help she needs at a mental facility, or does she deserve to go to prison like an animal? That is all."

"Okay," said the judge, possibly thanking the heavens that Mr. Sadler was done, "tomorrow we will start with the prosecution's case and hear the witnesses account of that night. We are adjourned for the day." And he hit the gavel. Violet was to be brought back to jail to await the trial for tomorrow. As she was leaving, she looked to see if her father was around. While she saw everyone else, she saw no sign of her father.

"Where is he?" she asked herself.

"Excuse me?" said the guard escorting her.

"I was looking for my father in the gallery," said Violet. "I was hoping he'd be here for opening statements."

"Well, I couldn't tell you where he's at, Ms. Gray," the guard shrugged. "Come on, the transport van is waiting." And they headed for the van that went back to jail.

**NEXT CHAPTER: CHARLIE'S REVENGE**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: STATEMENT FROM A FORMER BLOCKHEAD**

The next day, the trial began. The prosecutor was ready to call his first witness. Violet was afraid of who he'd call. What if he called Sally up and she lash out at her? Or if Patty made a miraculous recovery and was a surprise witness. But those two would be the least of her worries because Wylie Garrison called on the one person she harbored the most animosity towards, and was her primary target in the assassination attempt.

"Your honor, I call my first witness, Staff Sergeant Charles Brown," said Garrison. Violet knew her name would be "mud". Charlie didn't even look at his former adversary. He wasn't even going to acknowledge her presence. She was nothing to him. He took his place in the witness stand and held up his right hand as the bailiff placed the bible in his left hand.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?" said the bailiff.

"I do," Charlie answered.

"You may be seated, sergeant," said Judge Melendez. Garrison began his questioning.

"Sergeant Brown," he began, "how long have you known the defendant?"

"Practically all my life," Charlie answered.

"And was she ever nice to you?"

"Very little. She was nice in the beginning, then all of the sudden, she hated my guts out of nowhere."

"So for the most part she was always mean towards you and your family?"

"Well, not quite. She did hate me, and she tolerated my sister. As far as my parents went, she was cordial towards them. But as far as I went, she despised me with a passion. Her total hatred for my family came later."

"I see. So what did you think when your sister Sally became an intern at Gray Industries?"

"I didn't like it, mainly because Violet was in charge of her father's company. And given my history with her I was afraid my sister would get the same treatment, or worse. And, as I found out later, my fears were warranted."

"Do you think Ms. Gray set out to kill your entire family?"

"Oh, without question! She harbored animosity towards me for no other reason besides existing in the same universe as her. So when she was fired for her treatment of my sister and the other interns and employees, she blamed it on me and my family. When I found her outside my house that night she tried to massacre us, she asked me why I couldn't have stayed the failure I used to be as a kid."

"Come again?"

"Well, that was one of the genesis of her teasing of me and others teasing of me as a kid, and the primary reason for me joining the Marines in the first place. As a kid, 'Failure' was my middle name. I couldn't fly a kite, win a baseball game, kick a football, well, that last one wasn't totally my fault." Somewhere in the gallery, Lucy blushed. "But she, and others would poke fun at me for being a failure at everything I laid my fingers on. And I was an admitted klutz. But as I got older, I was starting to be more successful, winning games, flying kites, and even dating beautiful girls. And most of my adversaries stopped going after me, except Ms. Gray, who still viewed me as a failure and a loser. And sadly, it carried over to adulthood, even after I became a sergeant in the Marine Corps."

"What do you want for Ms. Gray in this situation?"

"To put it bluntly, for her to rot in prison for a long time for trying to kill me and my entire family!"

"No further questions, your honor." And Garrison took his seat. Dick Sadler stood up for cross-examination.

"Sergeant Brown," he began, "would you say Ms. Gray was out of her mind when she tried to come after you and your family?"

"Of course!" answered Charlie.

"So you're saying she does have a mental defect?"

"Objection!" shouted Garrison.

"I'll rephrase," said Sadler. "You think she has some issues going on?"

"We all have some sort of issues," said Charlie. "It's all in how you handle said issues. If I had an issue, I'd try to correct the issue like a normal person would. Ms. Gray wanted to correct her issue, namely me and my family, by mass murder!"

"But why would she target you? Her father was the one who fired her."

"Exactly! She loves her father, but despises me. She'd NEVER put a bullet to the person who helped give her life, she'd look for her favorite scapegoat: me, and by extension, my family."

"Have you done anything to earn Ms. Gray's visceral hatred?"

"Nothing in the slightest, except existing."

"No further questions, your honor."

"You may step down, sergeant," said the judge. Charlie left the witness stand and returned to his seat in the gallery.

As the days progressed, more witnesses testified about Violet's abusive behavior towards the employees and the interns, especially Sally, and how they feared that they would lose their job or internship. Sally, herself, also testified about the trauma Violet's abuse of her while she interned there left on her and how she worried that her scholarship was always threatened to be revoked by Violet. As bad as those testimonies was for Violet's defense case, none was more damning than when her own father, Grant, took the stand and recalled when he found out about his daughter's treachery and how she came close to murdering an entire family. Only then did Violet feel ashamed about what she did.

**NEXT CHAPTER: DADDY HAS A SURPRISE!**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: DISOWNED!**

Violet entered the visitor's room, expecting her attorney Dick to come in, discussing more of the case. They were preparing their case for the defense, and she was ready to discuss things with him. But Dick wasn't the one who showed up. It WAS an attorney, but it was the Gray's family attorney Michael Stone. Violet wondered what he was doing there, as he wasn't working this case. He sat down in front of Violet.

"Mike, what are you doing here?" she asked. "Dick Sadler is my attorney in this case."

"Yes, I know, Violet," said Michael. "I'm not here about your case; I'm here on behalf of your father."

"Oh?" That peaked her curiosity.

"You see, he wanted me to be the one to tell you this," Michael continued. "This is his words, not mine. Sally Brown will now be receiving a free ride through the rest of her college days with tuition, student loans, book purchases, everything, except dorm rent due to her living at home. Your father also wanted to say that the way this is all getting paid for is via your trust fund."

"WHAT?!"

"Your trust fund will pay Sally's way through college, and if there's nothing left, he'd cover the rest. He hasn't left you completely without anything. He has set aside $500,000 for you to get back on your feet when you either was found Not Guilty or after you served your sentence, whichever the outcome would be."

Violet was in shock. Her father had broken her trust fund to pay for the rest of Sally's schooling. Probably for making up to the Browns for her actions.

"Was there anything else, Mike?" asked an angry Violet.

"As a matter of fact there is," Michael answered. "Your father asked me to give you this. It's a letter from him to you." And he handed her a letter in an envelope. "Before you read it, I ask that you sign this. This is the form for you to receive the $500,000 after you get out." Violet reluctantly signed it and handed the form back to Michael. Then she opened her letter. What she read tore her apart and tears began to form, clouding her vision.

_Dear Violet,_

_ Words cannot describe how disappointed in you that I am. Forgetting the fact that you tried to massacre an entire family on Christmas Eve of all days, how you treated the workers for my company was outlandish and childish, and for what?! Because I was busy trying to build this company when you were growing up?! I worked hard to give you the best and I tried to show you that I did love you, and this is how you repay me?! If you were upset about me not being around all the time, all you had to do was talk to me and I would have tried to work things out. But you decided to blame your problems on an innocent boy who did nothing wrong but try to be nice to you, and then you blamed it on his family. There are plenty of families like his, that didn't mean I cared less about you. I know some of this was my own fault for not being there, and I do apologize for that, but this still doesn't excuse what you did. That's why it breaks my heart to say that I have to disown you. When you do get out, I don't want you to get in contact with me, call me, or even come to the house. If there's any loose ends you have with me, you can deal with them through Mike. If you are reading this, you already know that I broke your trust fund to pay for Sally's college, and the half-million I did set-aside for you, to let you know I'm not totally leaving you with nothing. I'm sorry things have to be this way, I really am, but this will be the last time you will hear from me directly. As of now, you are dead to me._

_Dad_

"I will be in touch to go over any loose ends, Violet," said Michael, who then left the sobbing former heiress by herself, still holding the letter. Her father had severed ties with her and she had no one in her life anymore. She bowed her head on the table and wept uncontrollably. A guard came in to see if she was all right. Violet crumpled into the guard and wept harder. The guard, in a rare show of compassion, comforted her as they escorted her back to her cell.

**THE END**

**NEXT TIME, VIOLET LEARNS HER FATE, PATTY FINALLY AWAKENS, AND FRIEDA GETS CAUGHT WITH ANOTHER MAN**


End file.
